Yesterday's Wine

Product Notes

The music of Richard Alan poetically reflects his life and experiences with sensitivity, truth and humor. His voice touches the spirit and moves the soul. Some folks sing the stories and lives of those that they've heard about. Richard sings his life. As so aptly put by legendary songsmith, Wayne Carson in his tribute to Richard Alan from his song 'Snowflake, Arizona' ... 'I once was an actor, I once was a Marine, I was a cowboy and a singer, among some other things, I have seen life and love from both sides of the coin, I've been down in the soup line, and I've been up on the tenderloin.' For most people, that is more than two lifetimes' worth of expriences; for Richard Alan, it is merely a starting point. We at Rios Records, are proud to introduce you to Richard. So sit back, relax and join Richard as his journey continues ...' Recollections by Tom Ghent : Sometime around 1972, I was the owner/operator of Tobacco Road a small 4 track recording studio in Nashville, TN. Like many of the other studios and publishing houses that dotted the Nashville landscape back in those days, we had an open door policy which made it a regular hangout for many singers, writers and musicians who either lived in or passed through Music City. The studio was in a large stone house near the Vanderbilt University and Hospital Complex, which was about 1 mile away from Music Row. My friend Cathy Jones owned a beer bar on the row called "The Country Corner". It was a legendary songwriter's bar ormerly the "Tally Ho Tavern" of Kris Kristofferson Fame frequented by virtually everyone who was anyone in Nashville country music circles. One night Cathy called me to say she had just hired a new young guy from out of town to Bartend for her and, since he was also an aspiring songwriter, she had given him my address etc. The next day he appeared at my door sporting long hair and a beard so full that it all but hid his entire face. After sharing some brief information about himself, namely that his name was Rick, he was from Arizona where he had been a Rodeo cowboy, riding Bulls and Bareback Broncs as a teenager, and that he had recently left the Marine Corps following a tour of duty in Vietnam, he proceeded to play some of his songs. Although, I must admit that I heard nothing that sounded like anything in which Nashville would be immediately interested, it was obvious that he had both raw talent and strong passion for songwriting. He also had one of those infectious personalities that I felt sure would open many doors for him. After a brief stay, during which he helped me construct a new drum booth for the studio, he fired up his Dodge Charger and headed off for parts unknown. One evening several months later I answered my door and was greeted by two young men, neither of whom I recognized. As it turned out, one was a clean shaven and, I might add, quite handsome Rick and the other was a friend of his since childhood, Randy. They had driven in from Phoenix in the hope that we would make demo recordings of some of Rick's new songs. In spite of the fact that I and my resident crew of studio musicians had just completed a full day of work on another project, and that it was already 11 p.m., we all returned to the studio to pull an all-nighter which yielded four great recordings. At about 5 a.m. I sang a blistering version of Rick's newly written "Vagabond Lady", a song which I, to this day, consider to be an undiscovered classic and my best recorded rock performance. Shortly thereafter we all passed out in various parts of the house and didn't wake up 'til the afternoon when the machines were again fired up and the cuts were mixed. Over the next few years Rick's talent continued to grow and one day he played me a song called "Yesterday's Wine" which I like so much that I included it on my 1982 album "All Strings Attached". The song definitely reveals a great deal about the writer himself, and also speaks volumes about so many of us caught in the same timewarp, losing like winners, spending long nights searching for a good friend, thinking of you, howling at the moon, and all the while knowing it may just be time to hit the road again and perhaps by springtime, be coming back again or going home, though it gets harder with each sip of yesterday's wine to see which path leads where !!! It is not at all surprising to me that the creator of so many great songs has put together such a wonderful CD, only that he has waited so long to do so .......Tom Ghent.

The music of Richard Alan poetically reflects his life and experiences with sensitivity, truth and humor. His voice touches the spirit and moves the soul. Some folks sing the stories and lives of those that they've heard about. Richard sings his life. As so aptly put by legendary songsmith, Wayne Carson in his tribute to Richard Alan from his song 'Snowflake, Arizona' ... 'I once was an actor, I once was a Marine, I was a cowboy and a singer, among some other things, I have seen life and love from both sides of the coin, I've been down in the soup line, and I've been up on the tenderloin.' For most people, that is more than two lifetimes' worth of expriences; for Richard Alan, it is merely a starting point. We at Rios Records, are proud to introduce you to Richard. So sit back, relax and join Richard as his journey continues ...' Recollections by Tom Ghent : Sometime around 1972, I was the owner/operator of Tobacco Road a small 4 track recording studio in Nashville, TN. Like many of the other studios and publishing houses that dotted the Nashville landscape back in those days, we had an open door policy which made it a regular hangout for many singers, writers and musicians who either lived in or passed through Music City. The studio was in a large stone house near the Vanderbilt University and Hospital Complex, which was about 1 mile away from Music Row. My friend Cathy Jones owned a beer bar on the row called "The Country Corner". It was a legendary songwriter's bar ormerly the "Tally Ho Tavern" of Kris Kristofferson Fame frequented by virtually everyone who was anyone in Nashville country music circles. One night Cathy called me to say she had just hired a new young guy from out of town to Bartend for her and, since he was also an aspiring songwriter, she had given him my address etc. The next day he appeared at my door sporting long hair and a beard so full that it all but hid his entire face. After sharing some brief information about himself, namely that his name was Rick, he was from Arizona where he had been a Rodeo cowboy, riding Bulls and Bareback Broncs as a teenager, and that he had recently left the Marine Corps following a tour of duty in Vietnam, he proceeded to play some of his songs. Although, I must admit that I heard nothing that sounded like anything in which Nashville would be immediately interested, it was obvious that he had both raw talent and strong passion for songwriting. He also had one of those infectious personalities that I felt sure would open many doors for him. After a brief stay, during which he helped me construct a new drum booth for the studio, he fired up his Dodge Charger and headed off for parts unknown. One evening several months later I answered my door and was greeted by two young men, neither of whom I recognized. As it turned out, one was a clean shaven and, I might add, quite handsome Rick and the other was a friend of his since childhood, Randy. They had driven in from Phoenix in the hope that we would make demo recordings of some of Rick's new songs. In spite of the fact that I and my resident crew of studio musicians had just completed a full day of work on another project, and that it was already 11 p.m., we all returned to the studio to pull an all-nighter which yielded four great recordings. At about 5 a.m. I sang a blistering version of Rick's newly written "Vagabond Lady", a song which I, to this day, consider to be an undiscovered classic and my best recorded rock performance. Shortly thereafter we all passed out in various parts of the house and didn't wake up 'til the afternoon when the machines were again fired up and the cuts were mixed. Over the next few years Rick's talent continued to grow and one day he played me a song called "Yesterday's Wine" which I like so much that I included it on my 1982 album "All Strings Attached". The song definitely reveals a great deal about the writer himself, and also speaks volumes about so many of us caught in the same timewarp, losing like winners, spending long nights searching for a good friend, thinking of you, howling at the moon, and all the while knowing it may just be time to hit the road again and perhaps by springtime, be coming back again or going home, though it gets harder with each sip of yesterday's wine to see which path leads where !!! It is not at all surprising to me that the creator of so many great songs has put together such a wonderful CD, only that he has waited so long to do so .......Tom Ghent.